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Large mural stolen off the side of a Cambridge arcade
Two people cut down the artwork from the side of DX Arcade in Central Square in broad daylight, the owner of the business said.
A large mural was stolen in broad daylight from the side of an arcade in Central Square recently, prompting a police investigation.
The art was stolen from the side of DX Arcade at about 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 31, according to a spokesperson for the Cambridge Police Department. Someone from the business contacted police the following day to report the crime.
Sean Hope, the owner of DX Arcade, said the mural was special to the business and called it the arcade’s “calling card.” It was unveiled in February, when the arcade threw a grand opening ceremony.
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The mural is 10 feet by 20 feet and depicts a futuristic cityscape featuring young people. It was meant to promote the business as a forward-looking arcade, in contrast to the nostalgia-oriented “barcades” that are growing more popular, Hope told Boston.com.
“I was intentionally trying to add a different medium to the fabric of Central Square,” he said. “We tweaked it and worked with the artist to come up with something that we really thought was special.
According to Hope, two people used a ladder to intentionally cut down the mural without damaging it too much. If the suspects didn’t like the art, they would have defaced it, he said. Instead, they carefully cut around the places where the mural was affixed to the wall. The mural is made of vinyl, and thus could be rolled up and stuffed into a car.
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The arcade was open at the time of the theft, but the mural was positioned in a way that employees could not see it from inside the building, Hope said.
He speculates that the crime could be part of some joke being pulled by college students.
“Now, I guess it’s hanging in someone’s dorm or part of some kind of prank but it’s really damaging for our business,” he said.
CPD has been working with other businesses to review surveillance footage, the police spokesperson said. The investigation is active and ongoing. Police are encouraging anyone with information to submit an anonymous tip online or by calling the department.
Hope has seen still images from surveillance footage captured by cameras at a nearby Target, and believes that two young women were responsible. Investigators have potentially identified a vehicle that was used to steal the mural, he said.
Hope said that he intends to press charges against those responsible.
“This cost me around five, six thousand dollars. I didn’t have to spend that. I could have just done a ‘we’re open’ sign,” he said. “But part of it was really trying to invest in the exterior and make it interactive. It’s really a community loss in many ways.”
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